Trolley-wire finder



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shee1; 2.

C. G. GLEMINSHAW 8z; W. H. BRADT.

TROLLEY WIRE FINDER.

Patented Apr. 18, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES G. CLEMINSHAlV AND WILLIAM H. BRADT, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

TROLLEY-WIRE FINDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,692, dated April18, 1893.

Application filed \Tune 22, 1892. Serial No. 437,556. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, CHARLES G. CLEMIN- SHAW and. WILLIAM H. BRADT,citizens of the United States, residing at Troy, county of Rensselaer,and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Trolley-"Wire Finders, of which the following is a specification.

Ourinvention relates to such improvements and consists of the novelconstruction and combination of parts hereinafter described andsubsequently claimed.

Reference may be had to the accompanying drawings. and the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a view in side elevation of a portion of atrolley-car having our improved trolley-wire finder attached. Fig. 2 isa bottom plan view of a portion of the trolley-arm and trolley, with thefinder attached. Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the brokenline, 33, in Fig. 2, through the swivel support for the finder. Fig. 4is a view in side elevation showing our invention in a modified form.

In the operation of electric street railways under the trolley system,the position of the oscillatory trolley arm is reversed at the end ofeach trip and frequently at other times, by means of a cord attached tothe oscillatory end of such arm. The operation involves disengaging thetrolley from the trolley-wire at one end of the car and bringing it intoengagement again at the other end of the car. To find the wire with thetrolley in effecting such engagement is frequently a difficult matter,especially on curves or in the night time.

The object of our invention is to facilitate finding the trolley-wirewith the trolley and effect an engagement between them by seating thewire in the peripheral groove of the trolley; and our invention consistsof a lever pivoted upon a support having a swivel connection with theoscillatory end of the trolley-arm, the upper end or finding finger ofthe lever being longer than the lower end and adapted to be projectedbeyond and above the trolley, and the lower shorter end being connectedwith the arm-controlling cord.

A represents a portion of a trolley-car and A', the trolley-supportingarm connected with the roof of the car in the usual well known manner,whereby its projecting end can be swung from one end of the car to theother.

A is the trolley supported on the swinging end of the arm and providedwith a peripheral groove, A adapted to form a seat for the conductor ortrolley-wire, A The trolley is forced up against the lower side of thewire by a spring (not shown) in the usual manner.

B is our improved lever pivoted at B', upon the oscillatory end of thesupport, 0, swiveled upon the trolley-arm. The support may be a simpleband of metal bent around the arm to turn freely thereon between thecollars, C, and 0 which prevent the movement of the supportlongitudinally of the arm. The collars are adj ustably secured to thearm by means of set-screws, 0 whereby the support may be adjusted in anydesired position on the arm. The lower short end of the lever isprovided with an aperture, B adapted to receive the cord, D, by whichthe trolley arm is controlled in the hand of the operator. The upper endof the lever forms the wire-finding finger, B and is of sufficientlengthto project beyond the trolley when brought into engagement with it. Thedirection of the finger is such that when brought into engagement withthe trolley it rests in the peripheral groove of the latter, and when inuse projects beyond and above the trolley. By a downward pull upon thecord the finger is thrown into engagement with the trolley ready foruse. When the hold upon the cord is released the finger is disengagedfrom the trolley and falls by gravity until the short end of the leverengages with the trolley-arm or a suitable stop thereon,the weight ofthe finger being sufficient to overbalance the weight of the short endof the lever.

The operation of the device is as follows: VVhe-n it is desired toreverse the trolley-arm, the arm is drawn downward by the cord until thetrolley and finger,which is forced upward above the wire by thepull,'are disengaged from the wire; the arm is then swung over to theother end of the car and the trolley drawn down beneath the wire by thecord, in the usual manner, the support, 0-, making a half-revolutionaround the arm. The arm is then swung by the cord laterally of the caruntil the upwardly projecting finger strikes the wire, when the cord ispaid out until the trolley engages the wire, the wire sliding along thefinger until it reaches its seat in the groove of the trolley. Thefinger is comparatively light and the arm-controlling springs aresufficiently strong to maintain the finger in an elevated position untilthe trolley engages its wire and the hold upon the cord is released orslackened. The operator will quickly learn to determine by the length ofthe cord the proper height of the arm to allow the trolley to pass underthe wire while the finger is still projecting above the wire to find andengage the same as the arm is moved laterally.

The relative position of the parts when the trolley is in engagementwith the wire and the finder idle, is shown by the solid lines at oneend of the car in Fig. 1; and the relative position of the same partswhen the trolley is disengaged and the finder engaged with the wire isshown by the dotted lines at the opposite end of the car in the samefigure.

111 the modified form of our invention shown in Fig. 4, thefinder-finger, E, is adapted to be given alongitudinal slide movementwhich projects its upper end beyond and above the trolley. The lower endof the finger is provided with the longitudinal slot, E', adapted toreceive and form a slideway for the pins, F, in the support, F. Thesupport has two arms, F and F which swivel on the trolley-arm and areheld in place by the intervening collar F The support is also providedwith a pulley, G, shown by dotted lines, adapted to receive thearm-controlling cord, H. The upper end of the cord is passed around thispulley and secured to the lower end of the finger, whereby a pull uponthe cord causes the finger to slide upward until its upper end projectsbeyond and above the trolley. YVhen thecord is released the finger iscaused to slide back below the top of the pulley by gravity or any knownmeans, to the position shown in Fig. 4, which is its normal position.

By having the finder swiveled to the trolley arm, the arm can be swungin a vertical plane from one end of the car to the other, toalternatelybring its opposite sides uppermost in the usual manner, andthe swivel connection can be used with various forms of Wirefinder. Weprefer to employ a single finger, as shown, rather than a fork for thereason that a single finger is sure to find the wire and guide it intothe trolley groove when the trolley -arm is swung laterally of the car.WVhere a fork is employed it must first be brought under the wire inprecisely the same manner as a naked trolley. The only advantage of afork is the increased probability of finding the wire by as much as thearms of the fork flare outwardly and present a wider span than theflanges of the trolleygroove.

Vhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with the trolley and trolley-arm of an electric car;of a wire-finding finger supported by the trolley-arm in the plane ofthe trolley-groove and normally located below the top of the trolley;and means for projecting the finger above the trolley, substantially asdescribed.

2. The combination with the trolley and trolley-arm of an electric car;of a lever pivoted upon the arm and provided with a finding-fingervibratory in the plane of the trolley-groove and normally located belowthe top of the trolley; and an operating cord secured to the lever,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 18th day ofJune, 1892.

CHARLES G. CLEMINSHAW'. WVILLIAM H. BRADT.

Witnesses:

A. E. DELANEY, FRANK O. CURTIS.

